Last week, we were honored to join Governor Lamont and other local leaders at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center to share more about our work to support victims of sexual violence. Our CEO, Mary Flynn, shared more about our vision and the critical role partnerships like the one we have with VOCA have on our ability to serve survivors and their families. Together, we are working to provide advocacy, education, and counseling in our community, and we are grateful to all those who come alongside us to make these essential services possible.
Transcript of Mary’s remarks
Thank you so much Beth, and thank you all for coming today. Governor Lamont – on behalf of the Rowan Center staff and Board of Directors, I am thrilled to be able to tell you more about the critical work we are doing to support victims of sexual violence in the eight towns of lower Fairfield County – Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, Weston, and Wilton.
It can be difficult to hear about the work we do on a daily basis. We talk about the epidemic of sexual violence and harassment happening in today’s world, and we are not using hyperbole. Victims desperately need the supports we offer. The Rowan Center has grown significantly over the past four years in order to meet these needs. Today we are using innovative methods to help victims and prevent sexual violence. Our statistics show that these new methods are reaching more survivors, but the need for services continues to grow. It would be impossible to serve victims in our eight towns without the VOCA funding we receive annually. The possible reduction in VOCA funding would leave us unable to serve the increasing number of victims who are requesting our services.
What do we do for victims of sexual violence? The Rowan Center is proud to offer free and confidential crisis counseling services to victims and their extended families, including new PTSD therapies and case management services.
Through our state-certified sexual assault training program, we also train volunteer advocates. These advocates answer our 24/7 hotline, accompany victims to one of our three local hospitals and also walk with victims throughout the process of filing police reports and attending court hearings. Due to our limited resources, we could not do this critical advocacy work without the 60 volunteers who give us their time, talent, and support.
An exciting new initiative that Beth Hamilton mentioned is that our staff advocates have launched a “text and chat” hotline! This program is in collaboration with the CT Alliance and will give victims yet another method by which to reach us.
We also offer a robust education program that trains students in our local schools on issues of empathy, respect, and boundaries, on how to navigate social media and online threats, on consent laws, bystander interventions, and college preparedness. We also educate beyond K-12 schools, talking with parent groups, at community centers, and in partnership with other organizations.
As I mentioned, we have seen a significantly increased demand for our services since the pandemic began, including a 78% increase in the number of individual client sessions we provided, a 62% increase in hotline calls, and we averaged more than one hospital call per week.
And one statistic that I would like to highlight: Our expanded work in our local high schools, at UConn Stamford, and at Norwalk Community College has resulted in a 44% increase in clients under the age of 23. You heard Beth Hamilton tell you about the dramatic rise in cases of childhood abuse: our numbers also demonstrated that increase. The need for mental health services for college and high school victims of sexual violence has exploded in this state, and we are working hard to meet that need.
Finally, I want to highlight again the critical importance of the VOCA funding we receive annually. With more national focus on sexual violence and harassment and a greater understanding of the varied and detrimental outcomes for victims, we must continue to expand our services. The potential for a VOCA reduction will have an immediate and negative impact on the service delivery we can provide. Governor Lamont, I want to thank you so much for your support and willingness to allocate funds in your budget to offset the proposed VOCA cuts.